Ruby's Pony Party

If Ruby could talk she'd tell you the cupcakes were delicious and the wrapping paper was right up her alley. She wore a dress I bought for her when she was only two months old because I loved it so much and the red velvet shoes that I had when I was her age! They were the perfect party shoes and I'm so glad my mom saved them.

The pony party theme was mainly inspired by some beautiful vintage horse ribbons I've seen here and used in a Dwell Studio photo (source no longer available). I loved the pink, peach, yellow, cream color scheme for Ruby's party and was thrilled to be able to use mostly supplies I had on hand. I did purchase satin ribbon from FM Store and found the vinyl doily tablecloth at a flea market for $2 a couple of days before the party. The larger toy horses were from my collection when I was little. My parents were sweet to bring them with them for the party and now Ruby can play with them!

I used this tutorial to make a satin ribbon but then got impatient and decided to use felt for the next two. Originally, I was going to make a garland with a ton of ribbons clustered on each end but ran out of time and went with what I'd finished. I hung them with straight pins on the table cloth and draped the extra satin ribbons between them.

I had a blue vintage USA platter and fun mid-century platter with pink and yellow designs on it that we used for the mini cupcakes and white chocolate dipped pretzels that were catered by Emma from the Red Velvet Sweet Shoppe. The black cake stand is from Hobby Lobby, the pink bowl is from Anthropologie, and the blue one is vintage. We used leftover napkins, forks, and cupcake cups from Sebastian's party and our vintage amber glasses and thrifted white dessert plates for serving our treats.

I'll be able to reuse the table cloth and might keep the felt ribbons up as decoration in Ruby's wardrobe. If you're going to make your own...give yourself some time! ;)

photo by Elsie

Elsie took Ruby's first portrait at six days old and we used this vintage floral sheet as the back drop. I thought it would be fun to use it in her first party decorations and take a photo of her in front of it at every birthday party! I can imagine looking through years of birthday photos and always spotting the yellow floral sheet!

Ruby loved all of her presents but enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper off the most. Sebastian helped her with the biggest box and then continued to open the rest of her presents for her while she played with the box. I've got the cutest video of it and someday hope to figure out how to load it online!

Ruby loved all of the attention and held on especially tight to her handmade doll from The Rice Babies! More on that later this week.

It was a memorable event and I hope Ruby looks back and feels celebrated on her first birthday!

I'm happy to say the bib did it's job and then survived the washing machine! I think it might go in a keepsake box so Ruby can have something of her own to share with her baby girl someday.

Thanks to everyone who shared birthday wishes online and for all of the sweet gifts and cards and phone calls from family members! I think I'm going to blink and we'll be celebrating her sweet 16! AAAAAAGHHHH!!

xoxo,
Rachel

Happy Birthday, Ruby!

You're the sweetest.
All of our love and so much more!
xoxo,
Mama, Daddy, and Sebastian

Getting Outside

Brett and I took the kids to the Nature Center this weekend like we have done every Fall since we've lived here. It's usually right after the trees have changed and there are five shades of yellow leaves lining the path. Last year I carried Ruby so this year it was Brett's turn.

I found this yellow leaf and couldn't pass up the easy photo op.

The rest of our weekend was spent catching up on laundry, going to a preschool fall festival, getting up early to participate in/watch the MSU homecoming parade, thrifting, grocery shopping, wondering why Ruby is boycotting her naps, and driving around town looking at rentals.

Why, yes, we are relocating!

Brett and I have been talking about finding a place with a little more space for a couple of months and are finally out looking. I've got my eye on one that has a great layout, tons of light, room for a designated studio space, a fire place, a driveway, and a garage! I never knew I could get so excited for those last two! I just have to twist Brett's arm and remind him that the pink subway tiles on the bathroom floor would only be for a year. (They're actually kind of fantastic!)

Posts scheduled for this week include recent Etsy purchases for the kids, a sneak peek at birthday party planning, and some recent vintage finds from the weekend. And the elusive but ever so charming DIY garland...(mwah, ha, ha, ha).

xoxo,
Rachel

Best Family Weekend In Months!

I wish I had a photo for every memorable moment from the last three plus days but other than Saturday morning at the pumpkin farm, we were either having fun at night or too into the moment to remember a camera! It was refreshing and just what we needed as a family to reconnect after so many weekends full of travel, Reserves drill, obligations, or deadlines with work.

On Friday after a trip to the grocery store and a run to grab some take out we decided on a whim (at 7:30 p.m.) to find a parking spot and have a picnic at Jordan Valley Park. It felt like those late summer nights in high school when the weather is perfectly warm and there are lots of people out enjoying the communal company of each other. The kids both got wet at the fountains and were out like a light when we finally put them to bed.

The next morning we made it to Anton's Coffee Shop and made friends with our waitress. It's still a toss up for us between Gailey's and Anton's for breakfast food but Anton's will be our go to if we're in a hurry. They have the greatest vintage high chairs made out of metal and covered in red and white gingham oil cloth and my omellete was delicious!

After breakfast we drove back to our neighborhood and spent a good hour at the pumpkin farm. Sebastian and Brett walked down rows of broccoli, climbed up piles of bark, and roamed through the pumpkins patiently stopping for photos at my request. Sebastian told me to take one of him on the wood chip pile and then made Brett do what he had done and took the photo below.

Later that evening was when we had invited our friends over to enjoy the fire pit so we got the house cleaned up a bit and decorated the front porch with pumpkins and mums. Our friends brought granny smith apples and caramel sauce and we had apple smoked turkey brats and S'mores with mint chocolate chip chocolate squares. We do weenie roasts extra fancy, ya'll.

The police showed up about thirty minutes after we'd started the fire and the rest of that story can be found in the previous two posts. It was even more sweet to have our friends there to enjoy our good news and get excited with us as we had been talking about it soon after they had arrived!

Sunday was spent enjoying our mostly clean house, playing with the kids, finishing projects, drinking coffee, fabric shopping, and making honey bran muffins among other things. I've gathered all of my supplies for pumpkin pie filled cupcakes and am prepared to make it work this week!

The leaves have just started turning here so it's starting to really feel like autumn despite the 85 degree weather. This week I'm excited to knock out some new sewing projects for my upcoming e-course as well as get some more handmade decorations up. Stay tuned for a fun tutorial!

Don't our kids look like they're having the time of their lives?

How did you spend your weekend?
xoxo,
Rachel

She's In Pieces But She's Back!

Brett's Vespa is back! It's back, it's back, it's back!

Here's how it happened. We had invited our good friends (best man and maid of honor in our wedding) and their kids over for a hot dog and marshmallow roast in our backyard and had a nice fire started when a police man walked around the side of the house quite slowly. I thought he was going to tell us we weren't allowed to have a fire but then he asked for James (Brett's first name) and if we had reported a scooter missing. We all perked up and he told us it was four houses down in the backyard! WHAT!!!! We had driven down so many streets in our surrounding area looking for it and it was in the alley almost behind our house!

Whoever stole it had tried to hot wire it but weren't able to get past the immobilizer and dumped it in the back yard of a house full of post-college guys that have their own bonfires. One of them came home from work and saw it in their yard and called the police to report it and said they thought it was their neighbor's bike. The police went down and got prints but couldn't get the VIN # to register in the system. Thankfully Brett had his MSU parking sticker on it so they were able to confirm our address and just walked a few houses up the street to our backyard! All of the parts that had been taken off were there minus some stuff that was in the seat. It won't start because some wires were cut so we'll have to take it into a shop somewhere in town to get it repaired. They could've just dropped it on it's side when they were done but they put it on it's stand. That was thoughtful of them.

He's so happy. It's really great to see him this happy after such a sad few days. Thank you for your concern. We'll have to see what happens next with insurance but mostly Brett just wanted THIS one back. YAY!!!

xoxo,
Rachel

Third photo C. S.

Thursday's Thrifting Therapy

Ruby and I picked Sebastian up from pre-school on Thursday and had a few hours to ourselves with Brett at work so we headed to Urban Flea Market, previously known as Charley's, to see what kind of headboards they had in stock. Both beds at our house are STILL without headboards because I'm picky when it comes to things that enter my house. Anyway, it was more of an excuse to go in and browse than anything and I'm glad we did!

I picked up this metal Tom Thumb childrens' typewriter to bring the typewriter collection to a total of ten. Now I need to update my kids' tetanis shots! I also found this vintage Bob Dylan album and brought it home to surprise Brett. He needed cheering up.

We woke up Thursday morning to find that his Vespa had been stolen. It was surreal. You may or may not have been here when I surprised him with it for his birthday earlier this year and can imagine how much it meant to him after years of dreaming about owning one.

We're meeting with our claims adjuster next week to talk about details and are trying not to get too discouraged about it. We've been keeping an eye on craigslist, shared it with local Vespa dealers, as well as the online Vespa community that Brett keeps up with just in case anyone happens upon it or news of someone looking for a part or something. I'm not getting my hopes up that the police will find it but there's always that chance. It's the only one like it in town and possibly the state as they no longer make this model.

Anyway, we're keeping ourselves distracted with some fall-ish activities this weekend. I am dying to try out this pumpkin-filled cupcake recipe and Brett has promised us a trip to Anton's Coffee in the morning. That list isn't going to last long! What are your weekend plans?

xoxo,
Rachel

Backyard Sunshine

We had a rushed afternoon but managed to snag a few moments as a family in the backyard before the sun went down. I know I complain a lot about the snakes, mosquitos, poison ivy, lack of a fence, etc. but I'm going to take so many happy memories from this little plot of land when we move someday. I doubt we'll find such a large, shaded yard so easily again so I'm determined to enjoy everything it has to offer.

Someday, I hope we will have another large oak tree (with a treehouse), a covered patio for summer dining, a large outdoor shed for storing projects that are waiting on me, and strings of outdoor lights near our restored Airstream trailer. Ahh, I've got simple dreams! What is your dream backyard?

xoxo,
Rachel

Cider Days: Every Year I Pretend It's Not Hot

After church Sunday morning we walked down to Cider Days like we did last year when I was 8 months pregnant with Ruby to find something good to eat and pretend like the sweat dripping down our backs wasn't sweat at all and that the leaves will be turning colors any moment now. Brett and I have decided Cider Days needs to stop kidding themselves and move the date back at least one more week to give the weather a chance to actually feel like fall.

Despite the way humidity can wipe you out and induce crankiness in the most quiet of hearts, we enjoyed ourselves. We saw the first pumpkins of the season, said hello to the mini horses that are paraded around every year, people watched, found Sebastian's favorite cupcakes with red things on top (sorry, Emma), ran into people we knew...(not those guys below)...

...and had some more pie! I was thrilled when Brett pointed out the Pie Box booth and pretty much dragged Sebastian two tents down to get a slice of pecan. One of the girls working remembered Brett showing up on his scooter to pick up three pies on my birthday and the other knew about RVA so we had a good chat about pie and Pushing Daisies. If you're in or around Springfield you must try The Pie Box for the kind of pies your grandma makes at Thanksgiving. My mouth is literally watering even typing this!

Probably my favorite part was on our way out when we came across the cutest three year old and his little sister selling organic lemonade for $2 a cup. I heard his parents explaining to some friends that he was raising money to buy more Thomas trains. That sign was what got me.

We'll probably forget how miserably hot it felt being out in the mid-day sun with two little ones and go again next year because that's what you do to feel like a part of the community you live in. You go out and do stuff, and bump into each other, exchange stories, observe, enjoy, and sweat together. And then you remember how fun that was last year and want to do it all over again.
Ha! What did you do with yourself this weekend? Oh, and today made vintage dress #3! However, I may have decided not to change clothes before attacking a large spray painting project while everyone napped the afternoon away and may have gotten a little bit of white paint on the bottom and may have rolled my eyes at myself for not having been more careful. I'm not sure it'll come out so it's either a shorter hem to make it more of a tunic or something pretty sewn on to cover it up. We shall see.

xoxo,
Rachel

Oh, and we ran into my midwife and her family on our way to the car and we hugged necks pretty tight. She is such a sweet woman and still so special to our family. I love that so many pregnant friends are using her!

Seasonal Shifts

Ruby and I had the house to ourselves this afternoon for awhile and while she gnawed on a random jar lid I took down the paper airplane garland and changed out a few images on my inspiration board. My mom gave me this copy of a photo of my PawPaw this summer and I suddenly realized who my brother looked like in our family. My PawPaw died over 21 years ago and my memories of our holidays spent together are faint but I remember his smile. My mom tells me I would've really loved him. He's up on the wall until further notice.

Speaking of my brother...we found out he's deploying in a few weeks. I'm hoping to work out some details to see him in a few weeks before his send off and planning my care packages already. Never did I imagine I'd be familiar with military life and now my brother and husband are both under contract. I'm proud of them both.

On a lighter note, I spent an hour in the sunshine plotting, I mean, documenting my plans for fall projects, blog topics, and goals for our family time and feel much more organized in the midst of teaching an online class and planning for the next one. My next project for blog purposes only is to test out making my own leather shoes for Ruby. I went to Tandy Leather last week and snatched up a few scrap pieces on sale and have every intention of coming up with something adorable so stay tuned.

xoxo,
Rachel

The First Day Of Preschool or The Longest Day Of My Life

Sebastian is off to preschool this morning with his new red backpack, his new red cot blanket, and his new red WITH TRACTORS pillow. (I'm writing this early in the morning having just finished sewing together his new red cot blanket and red WITH TRACTORS pillow so we haven't actually sent him out into the world on his own just yet.)

I'm talking myself into thinking about all of the things I will be able to do with my days when Ruby is napping (she takes some long ones!) but I'm pretty sure tomorrow will be spent wondering if he's wandered out of the bathroom with his underwear around his ankles looking for help with pulling them back up, or if he'll go hungry because the lunch options won't include any of the FIVE things he will actually eat, or what the teacher will think she heard when what he actually said was F.R.A.G.O. because his dad just got back from Army camp and we've been using that term a lot.

I know, he'll be fine. Right? And I'll be the one crying, right? I'm so proud of my son and how excited he is about trying something so new and unknown and can't wait to hear how it went. And I'm really hoping he won't be disappointed when he realizes he gets to do it again and again for about 18 more years.

xoxo,
Rachel